£^/^.  yTz^o^^z^^L^ui/  ^ 


UBRAR^ 

Technical  Series,  No.  16,  Part  I.  (FT ATE  PLANT  BOARC^ 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT   OF   AGRICULTURE, 

BTJRE^^TJ    OF    EISTTOMIOLOG-^^. 

L.   O.    HOV/ARD,  Entomologist  and  Chief  of  Bureau. 


PAPERS  ON  COCCID.E  OR  SCALE  INSECTS. 


THE  NATIONAL 
COLLECTION  OF  COCCIDT:. 


By  C.  L.  MARLA TT,  M,  S., 

Entoinolog if<t  and  A^sl^tant  Chief  of  Bureau, 


Issued  April  23,  1908. 


■A^^  GOVERNMENT     PRINTING     OFFICE, 


WASHINGTON; 

PRIN  ' 

1908. 


I 


:?i:'.i^^;^"-V.^^^<^'^  v---:Vs.>^- ■^:^'>: 


CONTENTS 


Page. 

Historical  summary 1 

Recent  work  of  the  Bureau 4: 

Preservation  of  material 5 

The  slide  collection 5 

Recent  additions  and  present  status ■ 6 

Methods  of  study 7 

The  work  of  the  future 9 

A  plea  for  the  deposit  of  types 10 

III 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/papersoncoccidaeOOunit 


U.   S.  D.  A.,  B.  E.  Tech.   Ser.   16,  Pt  T,  Issued  April    23.  1908. 

PAPERS  ON  COCCID.E  OR  SCALE  INSECTS. 


THE  NATIONAL  COLLECTION  OF  COCCID^. 

By  C.  L.  Marlatt,  M.  S., 
Entomologist  and  Assistant  Chief  of  Bureau. 

The  collection  of  scale  insects  or  Coccidse,  accumulated  chiefly 
through  the  agency  of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  of  the  U.  S.  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  and  forming  a  part  of  the  national  collec- 
tion of  insects,  is  undoubtedly  the  most  valuable  and  complete  in 
existence.  This  has  come  from  the  early  interest  of  the  Bureau  in 
the  subject  through  the  work  of  Prof.  J.  H.  Comstock,  and  as  a  result 
of  the  generosity  of  many  of  the  describers  of  new  species  of  later 
years  in  depositing  types  or  cotypes  in  the  National  Collection.  It 
may  not  be  out  of  place,  therefore,  to  give  a  brief  historical  summary 
of  the  National  Collection  of  Coccida%  together  with  a  description 
of  its  present  condition,  an  account  of  the  methods  of  installation 
and  preservation  of  material,  and  a  numerical  statement  of  species 
and  types  represented. 

HISTORICAL   SUMMARY. 

The  knowledge  in  America  of  this  important  group  of  insects  was 
very  scant  prior  to  1880.  During  that  year  Prof.  eJ.  Henry  Comstock, 
then  Entomologist  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  in  the  course  of 
an  investigation  of  the  insects  injurious  to  orange  trees,  begun  the 
previous  year,  noted  that  the  greater  part  of  the  insect  injury  to  citrus 
fruits  was  due  to  scale  insects.  This  led  him  to  make,  during  1880,  a 
particular  study  of  the  family  Coccidae.  broadening  the  inquiry  to 
include  the  study  of  all  scale  insects  affecting  cultivated  plants  in  the 
United  States.  Professor  Comstock  personally  collected  many  south- 
ern species  in  a  trip  through  Florida  in  January  and  February,  1880, 
and  during  the  following  summer  spent  three  months  in  the  fruit- 
growing sections  of  California  and  Utah  investigating  the  subject  and 

1 


2  PAPERS  OX  COCCIDiE  OR  SCALE  INSECTS. 

collecting  scale  insects.  He  Avas  assisted  also  by  several  of  his  col- 
leagues in  the  office,  notably  Dr.  L.  O.  Howard  and  Mr.  Theo.  Per- 
gande.  The  results  of  this  work  appeared  as  Part  II  of  his  Annual 
Report  for  1880,  in  a  paper  on  scale  insects,  which  included  descrip- 
tions of  most  of  the  Coccidse  then  in  the  collection  of  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  lack  of  space  preventing  the  description  of  all 
the  species  which  had  been  collected  up  to  that  time.  Some  4:5  species 
are  listed  and  described  in  this  report,  more  than  half  of  which  were 
new  to  science.  Previous  to  this  only  about  30  species  had  been  de- 
scribed by  American  writers,  the  majority  of  which  are  to  be  credited 
to  Dr.  Asa  Fitch.  Most  of  the  species  referred  to  in  Comstock's 
report  were  figured,  and  these  figures  mark  the  beginning  of  really 
careful  scientific  drawings  of  Coccid?p,  and  have  since  been  standard 
illustrations  of  the  si:)ecies  concerned. 

Doctor  Howard,  while  assisting  Professor  Comstock  in  the  study 
of  Coccida\  took  up  particularly  the  subject  of  the  chalcidid  para- 
sites of  these  insects,  and  presented  as  Part  III  of  Professor  Com- 
stock's report  a  paper  entitled  "  Report  on  the  Parasites  of  the 
Coccida^  in  the  Collection  of  this  Department."  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  Doctor  Howard's  work  on  chalcidid  j^arasites  and  led  to  his 
becoming  the  world's  authority  on  the  subject.  Hoav  little  was  known 
of  these  parasites  i:)revious  to  the  publication  of  this  paper  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that,  with  four  or  five  exceptions,  the  species  described 
and  figured  were  new  to  science. 

Professor  Comstock  retired  from  the  position  of  Entomologist  in 
1881,  but  published  in  Professor  Riley's  Report  for  that  year  a  short 
illustrated  article  on  Lac  Insects,  describing  three  new  species.  He 
also  gave  a  brief  article  on  methods  of  controlling  scale  insects.  A 
much  more  important  article  on  remedies  for  scale  insects  of  the 
orange,  by  Mr.  H.  G.  Hubbard,  is  published  in  the  same  report.  In 
this  paper  some  very  good  work  is  recorded  and  some  of  the  more 
important  modern  methods  of  control  are  given  first  exploitation. 

Professor  Comstock's  report  on  Coccida?  in  the  Department  Report 
of  1880,  as  already  indicated,  was  incomplete  and  did  not  include  all 
of  the  species  collected.  His  final  paper  occupied  the  principal  por- 
tion of  the. Second  Report  of  the  Department  of  Entomology  of  the 
Cornell  University  Experiment  Station,  published  in  1883.  This 
jDaper  is  a  brief  monograph  of  the  subfamily  DiasiDinse  as  repre- 
sented in  the  fauna  of  Xorth  America,  together  with  notes  on  species 
not  at  that  time  observed  in  the  United  States.  Several  new  species 
are  described  in  this  report,  and  the  latter  concludes  with  a  list  of 
the  American  nondiaspine  scale  insects. 

This  practically  concluded  Professor  Comstock's  work  on  Coc- 
cidae,  and  for  a  long  period  thereafter  the  systematic  study  of  this 
important  group  of  insects  practically  ceased  in  this  country.     The 


THE   NATIONAL   COLLECTION    OF    COCCID.E.  6 

Department  Collection  contained  types  or  cotypes  representing  prac- 
tically all  of  Comstock's  work,  and  examples  of  the  known  species 
collected  by  him,  and  Mr.  Theo.  Pergande  undertook,  during  the 
years  following  1880,  to  identify  the  material  which  was  sent  to  the 
Department  by  comparison  with  named  material  in  the  collection. 
Mr.  Pergande's  work  during  this  period  was  of  great  value  to  the 
Bureau  and  to  the  entomologists  in  this  country,  but  necessarily 
much  that  came  in  could  not  be  identified,  and  there  was  a  large 
accumulation  of  unnamed  material  representing  in  part  old  species 
and  in  part  species  new  to  science. 

Mr.  H.  G.  Hubbard,  Avho  has  already  been  referred  to  as  having 
published  an  important  paper  on  remedies  for  Coccida?  in  the  Annual 
Report  of  the  Department  for  1881,  continued  his  investigation  of 
orange  insects  and  the  means  of  controlling  them,  at  Crescent  City, 
Fla.,  as  an  agent  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  published  in 
1885  his  excellent  report  entitled  ''  Insects  Atfecting  the  Orange.'' 
This  represented  nearly  four  years'  study  and  experiment,  and  dealt 
very  largely  with  the  common  scale  enemies  of  the  orange.  Mr.  Hub- 
bard's interest  in  scale  insects,  aroused  in  this  study,  continued, 
although  he  published  nothing  noteworthy  afterwards  on  the  subject. 
It  was,  however,  his  intention  to  bring  out  a  new  and  thoroughly 
revised  edition  of  his  Orange  Insects,  and  to  take  up  in  connection 
with  it  a  study  of  the  classification  of  Coccida^;  but  his  untimely 
death  prevented  the  accomplishment  of  this  task. 

About  1891  Prof.  T.  D.  A.  Cockerell  began  to  collect  and  study 
the  Coccidie  of  Jamaica,  where  he  was  then  stationed.  For  some 
years  much  of  his  material  came  to  this  office  for  determination,  but 
in  a  short  time  he  became  familiar  with  the  subject,  and  ultimately 
the  world's  best  authority  in  the  group,  and  for  a  period  of  several 
years  much  of  the  new  material  coming  to  the  Department  was  sent 
to  him  for  determination  and  description.  Professor  Cockerell  had 
in  the  meantime  accepted  a  position  in  the  New  Mexico  Agricultural 
College,  and  his  collections  and  descriptions  of  Coccidse  were  enriched 
by  the  inclusion  of  mau}^  new  southwestern  species  as  well  as  by 
material  which  came  to  him  from  all  quarters  of  the  world.  Very 
fortunately  his  close  cooperation  and  sympathy  with  the  Bureau  of 
Entomolog}^  and  interest  in  the  National  Collection  led  him  to  deposit 
his  types  in  Washington,  thus  very  greatly  enriching  the  local  collec- 
tion. Professor  Cockerell,  while  diminishing  ver}^  much  his  activity 
in  this  group  in  later  years,  has  retained  his  interest.  During  his 
most  active  decade  his  publications  on  Coccida?  were  voluminous, 
much  exceeding  the  work  of  any  other  investigators  in  this  field  with 
the  possible  exception  of  Signoret  and  Maskell.  In  connection  with 
this  Bureau  he  published  several  j^apers,  notably  his  bulletin  on  the 


4  PAPERS    ON    COCCIDJE    OK    SCALE    INSECTS. 

San  Jose  scale  and  its  nearest  allies,"  and,  through  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,^  papers  on  the  food  plants  of  scale  insects,^  directions  for 
collecting  and  preserving  scale  insects,^  and  geographical  distribution 
of  scale  insects.*^ 

RECENT   WORK   OF   THE   BUREAU. 

The  resumption  of  active  study  of  Coccida^  in  connection  with  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  began  in  the  early  ninetias,  partly  as  a 
result  of  the  interest  aroused  by  the  San  Jose  scale  and  the  necessity 
of  being  able  to  determine  at  once  and  authoritatively  all  material 
which  was  coming  in  supposedly  representing  this  new  and  danger- 
ous species.  It  proved,  in  other  words,  impracticable  to  be  dependent 
for  such  determinations  on  specialists  at  a  distance.  Mr.  Pergande, 
who  had  had  charge  of  the  coccid  collections,  had  his  time  so  fully 
taken  up  with  other  lines  of  investigation,  notably  the  subjects  of 
Aphididoe  and  Formicida^  that  he  could  not  keep  up  with  the  rapidly 
increasing  collection  and  literature  in  Coccidae.  To  meet  the  need 
and  following  the  incentive  of  an  old  interest  the  writer  therefore 
took  as  his  special  field  in  systematic  entomology  the  subject  of 
Coccidae.  A  season  spent  in  studying  orange  insects  in  southern  Cali- 
fornia accentuated  his  interest  in  the  subject,  and  general  charge 
of  the  Department  collections  in  this  family  was  assumed  by  him  in 
1900,  and  a  thorough  reorganization  of  the  collection  and  notes  was 
then  begun.  Before  this  work  had  j)r()gTesse(l  very  far  it  was  inter- 
rupted for  more  than  a  year  by  a  trip  to  the  Orient,  in  which,  how- 
ever, the  scale  insects  were  the  special  object  of  study  and  collection. 

During  the  twenty  years  which  had  elapsed  since  the  work  of  Com- 
stock,  a  great  mass  of  material  had  accunnilated,  most  of  it  preserved 
under  very  bad  conditions,  and  more  than  half  of  it  unidentified.  It 
was  no  small  undertaking  to  bring  all  tliis  mass  into  order,  and  in 
this  Avork  the  writer  was  assisted  (hiring  a  number  of  j^ears  by  Messrs. 
J.  Kotinsky  and  E.  R.  Sasscer. 

The  enormous  increase  in  the  number  of  scale  insects,  and  the 
amount  of  technical  work  necessary  to  determine  the  validit}'  of  spe- 
cies and  to  identify  new  material,  made  it  early  evident  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  the  writer  to  keep  the  whole  subject  as  his  own 
field,  and  in  January,  1905,  Mr.  J.  G.  Sanders  was  appointed  an 
assistant  in  the  Bureau  and  became  the  writer's  colleague  in  the  study 
of  Coccid?e,  the  important  field  of  the  nondiaspine  scale  insects,  to- 
gether with  the  collections  and  notes,  being  turned  over  to  him  un- 
reservedly.    Mr.  Sanders  is  also  charged  with  the  very  important 

«  Tech.  Ser.  G,  Div.  Ent.,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric,  1897. 

»  Proc.  V.  S.  Nat.  Miis.,  XIX,  No  1122,  pp.  725-785,  1897. 

<^  Bui.  39,  Part  L,  U.  S.  Nat.  Miis.,  1897. 

^  Proc.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.,  XXIl,  No.  1026,  pp.  615-G25,  1895. 


THE    NATIONAL   COLLECTION    OF    COCCIDJi].  5 

inspection  and  quarantine  work  of  the  new  importations  made  by 
the  Department,  and  in  this  field  has  detected  and  prevented  the 
introduction  of  a  number  of  new  scale  insects  which  probably  would 
have  made  very  destructive  records  if  established  in  this  country. 

PRESERVATION    OF    MATERIAL. 

The  first  effort  was  to  arrange  for  the  proper  preservation  of  the 
type  and  other  material,  and  a  modification  of  the  system  followed 
by  Green  was  adopted — namely,  the  inclosing  of  material  in  strongly 
made  pasteboard  boxes,  following  a  definite  unit  of  length  and 
breadth,  3  by  2  inches,  so  that  they  can  be  arranged  in  five  columns 
in  the  standard  insect  draAver  which  has  been  in  use  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum ; «  these  boxes  vary  in  depth,  however,  to  accomo- 
date different  quantities  of  material.  All  type  and  valuable  material, 
in  fact  all  material  not  in  large  quantity,  is  further  protected  by  being 
first  folded  in  squares  of  lens  paper  to  retain  any  loose  scales  or  insects. 
By  this  system  the  bulk  of  the  collection  Avas  enormously  reduced 
and  loss  of  valuable  specimens  obviated.  This  system  presents  also 
the  great  convenience  that  additions  may  be  made  with  the  same  facil- 
ity as  in  a  card  catalogue. 

Special  card  labels  suitable  to  the  nature  of  the  collection  were 
secured  from  the  Library  Bureau.  These  are  of  different  colors  to 
indicate  respectively  the  genus,  the  valid  species  and  varieties,  and 
the  typical  material  of  the  species  reduced  to  synonymy. 

THE  SLIDE   COLLECTION. 

The  slide  preparations  of  the  different  species  had  become  very 
extensive,  and  now  comprise  fully  10,000  slides,  relating  to  more 
than  a  thousand  sj^ecies.  A  new  system  of  storage  for  slide  material 
Avas  devised,  folloAving  the  plan  of  the  ordinary  card  catalogue  cabi- 
net.'^ The  older  systems  of  slide  storage  had  proA^ed  to  be  very  un- 
satisfactory for  so  large  a  collection  representing  so  many  different 
species.  None  of  the  older  sj^stems  Avas  sufficiently  elastic  or  alloAved 
easy  systematic  classification,  but  required  card  indexes  and  the  con- 
sultation of  many  different  slide  boxes  to  get  together  material  repre- 
senting a  single  subject.  This  led  the  Avriter  to  devise  a  cabinet  in 
Avhich  the  slides  could  be  filed  on  the  card  index  plan.  To  enable 
a  slide  to  be  thus  stored  a  special  euA^elope  or  jacket  is  provided  for 
each  slide.  This  jacket  is  made  of  strong  manila  paper  and  but 
little  larger  than  the  standard  slide  size  (slide  1  by  3  inches,  jacket 
li  by  3i  inches),  affords  an  opportunity  for  sufficient  labeling,  and 

"The  insect  drawers  since  then  adopted  by  the  National  Museum,  and  in- 
tended for  pinned  insects,  are  somewhat  shallower  than  those  first  used. 
&  See  Science,  Dec.  30,  1904,  p.  925. 


b  PAPERS  ON  COCCID.E  OR  SCALE  INSECTS. 

can  be  filed  exactly  as  an  index  card.  The  cabinet  follows  the  general 
plan  of  a  library  card  index,  is  of  five  drawers  of  three  partitions 
each,  and  holds  upward  of  2,000  slides.  Guide  cards  were  devised  to 
correspond  with  the  slide  envelope,  and  have  on  their  lower  edge  an 
extended  lip  perforated  for  the  countersunk  retaining  rod  which 
runs  just  below  the  level  of  the  slides.  This  rod  holds  the  guide  cards 
and  gives  additional  security  to  the  slides,  which  remain  steadily  in 
l^lace  by  their  own  weight.  Each  cabinet  is  arranged  with  a  lock 
which  fastens  all  five  drawers.  The  latter  have  the  retaining  device 
SO  that  there  is  no  danger  of  pulling  them  entirely  out  and  spilling 
their  contents.  The  envelopes,  however,  give  such  protection  to  the 
slides  that  the  latter  will  not  break  even  from  falling  some  distance, 
and.  furthermore,  they  j^rotect  the  slides  entirely  from  dust.  The 
slide  cabinets,  envelopes,  and  guide  cards  are  all  made  by  the  Library 
Bureau  at  very  reasonable  cost.  The  slide  jackets  cost  about  $2  a 
thousand,  and  the  cabinets  are  but  little  more  expensive  than  the  ordi- 
nary index  case. 

This  system  of  storing  slides  allows  for  additions  indefinitely  in 
exact  classification,  with  as  minute  and  accurate  subdivisions  as  may 
be  necessary.  It  has  now  been  in  use  some  five  years  and  has  given 
complete  satisfaction.  The  work  of  consulting  the  slides  and  han- 
dling the  material  is  reduced  at  least  two-thirds,  and  consultation  is 
so  easy  that  it  increases  the  usefulness  of  the  slide  collection  many 
times. 

The  cabinet  described  here  in  some  detail  is  suitable  for  dry  balsam 
mounts,  and  in  the  preparation  of  slides  of  Coccidae  the  mount,  as 
soon  as  prepared,  is  dried  over  an  alcohol  flame  for  a  few  seconds, 
wdien  it  can  be  put  at  once  into  the  jacket.  In  any  case  where  the 
slide  can  not  be  thus  dried  it  must  be  laid  in  a  horizontal  position 
until  the  balsam  has  become  thoroughly  hardened.  Once  thoroughly 
dried,  the  intense  heat  of  Washington  summers  does  not  result  in  any 
softening  or  attachment  of  the  slide  to  the  inclosing  jacket. 

A  card  catalogue  has  been  made  of  all  the  material  which  has  come 
to  the  Department,  and  the  accumulated  notes  have  been  systemat- 
ically arranged  so  that  they  are  available  for  instant  reference.  This 
work  has  been  done  whenever  time  was  available,  and  has  often  been 
interrupted  for  weeks  or  months  together,  but  has  now  resulted  in 
the  collection,  notes,  and  records  being  in  exceptional  order  and  in 
shape  for  study  by  the  specialist  with  the  greatest  economy  of  time. 

RECENT  ADDITIONS   AND   PRESENT   STATUS. 

The  deposit  of  the  types  of  Professor  Cockerell's  new  species  repre- 
sent the  most  important  additions  since  Comstock's  time.  Following 
this  commendable  example,  most  of  the  other  workers  in  this  group 


THE    NATIONAL    COLLECTION    OF    COCCIDiE.  7 

in  this  country  liave  given  their  types,  or  at  least  cotypes,  to  the  Na- 
tional Collection.  Among  this  material  are  the  species  descrihed  by 
Newell,  King,  Sanders,  Tinsley,  Johnson,,  Townsend,  Cooley,  Cole- 
man, and  'Woglum.  Cotypes  of  the  greater  number  of  Green's  ori- 
ental species  have  also  been  most  kindly  presented  by  him  to  the  Na- 
tional Collection,  making  a  large  and  very  valuable  addition.  Co- 
typical  or  authentic  material  representing  man}^  of  the  new  species 
of  other  foreign  w^orkers  in  the  family  has  been  received  in  exchange 
or  by  gift,  including  a  considerable  percentage  of  Maskell's  species 
and  those  of  later  students,  notably  Hempel. 

The  collection  now  includes,  besides  much  unidentified  material, 
representatives  of  1,072  species  of  Coccidee,  of  which  81G  are  types  or 
cotypes.  Of  these  366  belong  to  the  subfamily  Diaspinse,  Avith  293 
types;  and  706  to  the  non-diaspine  scales,  with  523  t3q3es.  The  de- 
scribed Coccidse  of  the  world  now  reach  a  total  of  nearly  1,600,  but 
of  these,  from  the  critical  studies  which  have  been  in  progress  now 
for  several  years,  it  seems  likely  that  at  least  one-third  will  fall  as 
synonyms,  leaving  perhaps  a  thousand  valid  species.  A  correspond- 
ing proportion  of  the  type  and  other  material  in  the  National  Collec- 
tion of  Coccidse  will  fall  as  synonyms.  Nevertheless,  the  figures  given 
indicate  a  collection  of  extraordinary  richness  and  value  in  its  accumu- 
lation of  species  and  types.  In  working  out  synonymy  the  type 
specimens  of  the  synonyms,  together  with  the  material  referred  to 
these  synonj^ms  by  the  describers  or  later  workers  of  authority,  are 
kept  together,  so  that  they  can  be  easily  referred  to  should  any  ques- 
tion arise  as  to  their  status. 

METHODS   OF   STUDY. 

A  very  large  amount  of  laborious  preliminary  Avork  has  been  done 
which  makes  no  showing,  but  in  the  course  of  this  work  those  Avho  are 
actively  conducting  it  have  gained  such  a  familiarity  with  the  subject 
and  so  broad  an  acquaintance  with  the  different  genera  that  it  should 
now  be  possible  for  them  to  monograph  the  material  far  more  sat- 
isfactorily and  accurately  than  ever  before.  The  opportunity  now 
had  for  comparison  of  types  leads  necessarily  to  the  discovery  of  a 
large  amount  of  synonymy,  and  the  task  of  weighing  and  definitely 
ascertaining  the  status  of  older  work  is  now  in  progress  and  repre- 
sents the  most  difficult  part  of  the  undertaking,  although  a  necessar}^ 
preliminary  to  the  description  of  new  species  and  the  monographing 
of  genera. 

In  attempting  to  make  determinations  from  published  descriptions 
the  inadequacy  of  the  characterizations  Avas  at  once  felt,  through  no 
fault,  hoAveA'er,  of  the  early  describers,  Avho  folloAved  the  customary 
methods  of  the  time,  just  as  the  descriptions  of  this  day  may  similarly 


8  PAPERS  ON  COCCID.E  OR  SCALE  INSECTS. 

prove  to  be  inadequate  fifty  years  from  iio\v.  The  principal  diffi- 
culty, however,  was  that  many  structural  features  of  the  insect  were 
not  mentioned  in  the  descriptions,  and  hence  a  systematic  arrange- 
ment from  descriptions  Avas  impossible,  or,  if  attempted,  very  faulty. 
To  give  a  standard  for  comparisons  of  descriptions,  the  writer  has 
drawn  up  a  scheme  to  be  followed  which  has  proved  to  be  a  great 
convenience.  It  at  least  insures  that  no  important  character  is 
omitted,  and  the  discussion  of  the  different  parts  in  regular  order 
allows  an  easy  comparison  of  the  same  characters  for  different  species. 
Card  blanks  have  been  prepared,  and  following  the  printed  indi- 
cations the  descriptions  can  be  made  very  readily  in  abbreviated 
form  and  elaborated  as  fully  as  necessary  for  publication.  These 
cards,  being  of  the  same  size  (5  by  8  inches)  as  the  standard  note 
card  adopted  l)y  the  Bureau,  are  filed  as  a  permanent  record.  The 
card  illustrated  below  is  designed  especially  for  the  diaspine  scale 
insects.  Some  modification  of  this  card  is  necessary  for  the  non- 
diaspine  species,  and  Mr.  Sanders  has  worked  out  such  a  modifica- 
tion, also  illustrated.  It  is  hoped  that  the  describers  of  new  species 
of  scale  insects  will  follow  the  order  indicated  on  these  cards,  so  that 
all  future  descriptions  may  be  readily  comj^ared. 

Order  folhnccd   in   d'.s<rihiii</   I)i<t.si)hiu\ 
Name : 

Female  scale:    (Size,  shape,  density,  convexity,  color,  pellicles,  ventral  scale, 

situation,  etc.). 
Male  scale:  (Do.)  Male  insect:    (rn>iniportant). 

Adult  female:    (Shape,  size,  color,  cbitinization,  anterior  and  niartrinal  char- 
acters, stigmatic  pores — if  present,  relationship). 
Anal  plate:    (Shape,  size,  color,  chitinization,  etc.). 

Lobe:    (No.,  size,  shape,  chitinization,  i)Osition,  etc.). 
Lateral  teeth  :    (Anterior  to  lobes  and  plates). 
Incisions:   (i.  e.,  notches  between  lobes). 

Paraphyses  :    (Chitinous  thickenings  at  base  of  lobes  and  sometimes  mar- 
ginal beyond  lobes). 
Pl\tes:    (No.,  character,  situation). 

Spines:  (Position  same  for  all  species,  as  a  rule  unimportant). 
Anal   opening:    (Size,    shape,    position).  Genital   opening:    (Unim- 

portant). 
Paragenitals  :    (No.,  massed  or  scattering,  etc.). 
Dorsal  pores:    (No.,  size,  distribution,  etc.). 
Basal  thickenings:    (Transverse,  broken,  rod-like  elevations  near  base  of 

plate — dorsal). 
Ventral  thickenings:  (Broad  areas  of  slight  chitinization  extending  from 
tip  and  longitudinal  ridges  laterad  of  vaginal  opening). 
Type:   (Dept.  No.,  V.  S.  Nat.  Mus.  No.,  host,  locality,  coll.,  date). 
Note:    (Prominent  distinguishing  characters,  relationships,  etc.). 


THE    NATIONAL    COLLECTION    OF    COCCIDiE. 
Order  follotved  in  descriMng  non-didspine  Coccidw. 


Name : 


Male:   (Scale  or  puparium ;  adult,  emergence). 

Female:  (Size,  shape,  color,  markings,  secretion,  maturity,  reproduction). 

Derm    (cleared)  :    (Character,    size,   outline,   color,   chitinization,    pilosity, 

color  in  KOH). 
Antennae:   (Location,  segments,  measurements  in  ,u,  formula,  hairs). 
Legs:    (Location,  development,  pilosity,  coxa,  trochanter,  femur,  tibia,  tar- 
sus, claw,  digitules). 
Spiracles:   (Location,  character,  pores). 

Pores:  (Character,  simple  or  compound;  arrangement,  dorsal,  ventral). 
Spines — marginal:  (Character,  length,  arrangement).    Spiracular  :  (Char- 
acter, length,  arrangement). 
HYPOPYGiAL  :  (Character,  number,  arrangement).    Surface  :  (Char- 
acter,  length,   arrangement). 
Anal  plates:    (Shape,   size,  character,   location). 

Set^ — fringe:     (Number,    location,    length).      Suuapical  :     (Number, 
location,  length). 
apical:   (Number,  location,  length). 
Thickenings:    (Character,    locution). 
Anal  ring:   (Shape,  character,  number  of  hairs). 
Type:    (Host,    locality,    date,    collector). 
Note:    (Prominent  distinguishing  characters,  i)ecu]iarities,  relationships,  etc.). 

THE   WORK   OF   THE   FUTURE. 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  writer  and  of  his  colleagues  in  the  study 
of  this  family  to  work  out  the  synonymy  of  described  material  which 
has  accumulated,  to  prepare  sj^noptic  tables  of  the  different  genera, 
and  describe  the  species  which  seem  to  be  new  to  science.  These 
papers  will  be  issued  from  time  to  time  as  parts  of  the  present  bulle- 
tin and  of  later  bulletins  of  the  Technical  Series  of  this  Bureau. 

The  catalogue  and  bibliography  of  Coccidse,  started  in  such  a  com- 
preiiensive  and  thoroughgoing  manner  by  Mrs.  Fernald,  will  be 
continued  in  biennial  supplements  by  Mr.  »T.  G.  Sanders,  one  such 
supplement  having  already  been  issued.^ 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  in  the  study  of  Coccidse  has  been  the 
inaccessibility  of  the  types  of  Maskell's  many  new  species,  especially 
as  the  descriptions  and  figures  were  in  most  cases  inadequate.  It  is 
a  pleasure,  therefore,  to  be  able  to  announce  that,  through  the  cour- 
tesy of  Mr.  T.  W.  Kirk,  the  Department  is  to  be  allowed  to  make  a 
critical  examination  and  study  of  all  of  MaskelFs  types  and  other 
material,  which  are  now^  rnaking  their  long  journey  from  AVellington, 
New  Zealand,  to  Washington  for  this  purpose. 

The  field  of  Coccidse  is  a  very  large  one,  and  there  is  plenty  of  room 
in  it  for  a  considerable  number  of  students,  and  the  National  Collec- 

«Tech.  Ser.  No.  12,  Part  I,  Bur.  Ent.,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agriculture.     190G. 


10  PAPEKS    ON    COCCID.E    OR    SCALE    INSECTS. 

tion  is  open  to  anyone  who  wishes  to  study  or  consult  it.  A  good  deal 
of  exchange  material  of  value  has  been  accumulated,  and  exchanges 
for  species  not  represented  in  the  DejDartment  Collection  Avill  be 
gladly  made. 

A  PLEA  FOR  THE  DEPOSIT  OF  TYPES. 

The  Coccida^  present  special  difficulties  in  the  wa}^  of  determination 
on  account  of  their  small  size  and  the  necessity  of  making  careful 
microscopic  prej^arations.  Furthermore,  it  is  not  very  practicable 
to  determine  material  from  descriptions  only,  and  it  is  necessary  in 
most'cases  to  have  type,  or  accurately  identified  material,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  comparison.  With  Coccida^,  therefore,  more  than  with  other 
groups  of  insects,  it  seems  necessary  to  have  some  central  depot  for 
the  deposit  of  types,  where  authoritative  identifications  may  be  made. 
It  is  hoped  and  urged,  therefore,  that  all  American  describers  of  new 
species  will  adopt  the  course  of  placing  type  or  cotype  material  in 
the  National  Collection,  where  it  will  be  carefully  preserved  and  be 
available  for  study  at  any  time. 

O 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


3  1262  09229  6291 


